Beta: Sno-Chan
Disclaimer: DC owns all these characters and WB owns DC and Time Warner owns WB and I'm pretty sure the rest of the world.
Sno-Chan's Notes: Look out guys, Gladrial's in her element...As opposed to the previous chapter, which was mine.
Gladrial's Notes: Stabbity fun time!
The next morning brought another round of thorough hygiene since they would be reaching their destination today and Joker insisted they both look their best. Harley repacked the car and Joker joined her when she signaled it was safe. The only thing out of place was their clothes, but the dry cleaner was on the way. Joker seemed to think it for the best anyway: The longer they waited to change, the crisper they'd be.
Harley found it all a little odd. She'd never seen him so picky about such things unless Batman was involved.
They were on their way, making good time, but all the while Joker subtly grew antsy. Harley could sense he was tense and when he started drumming his fingers rhythmically against the passenger door she decided to ask him what was wrong.
"Nothing," he answered distantly.
Harley left the matter alone, but when they saw a sign indicating a dramatic view off the side of the road Joker insisted they pull over. She did as she was told even though it didn't make much sense; she didn't think he was really interested in taking in the scenery. She pulled into the area reserved for sightseers and turned to him again. "What's the matter?" she insisted.
Joker responded by suddenly lunging at her without provocation. He wrapped his hands around her neck and started to squeeze. Harley couldn't so much as choke out a question to his actions but he gave her an answer anyway. "It's nothing personal, Harley. Really it isn't. I just haven't killed anyone in...about a month. You know how it is."
At that moment, another vehicle pulled into the area to take in the sight of the drop off. Joker instantly released Harley as he watched these newcomers step out of their SUV, paying no attention as she coughed and wheezed violently. The new vehicle contained a family of four. The parents were trying to get their children into the family trip, but the two teenagers seemed far from interested and remained glued to their electronic devices.
"I love killing teenagers!" Joker exclaimed. "They're so annoying. C'mon, Harl." He pulled a switchblade out of his pocket and jumped out of the car excitedly. Harley quickly composed herself and followed him.
"Enjoying the view?" Joker asked the couple who had given up on coercing their children out of the SUV.
The two teens didn't notice the commotion outside, including the screaming of their parents. The daughter was banging her head to her IPOD while her brother was thoroughly engaged in his gameboy. He didn't even take his headphones off when showing his sister that he reached a new level, to which she showed no interest.
"It's a good thing we hadn't changed yet," Joker commented, pointing at the blood on his shirt.
"So much for lying low," Harley complained at the mess they just made.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," he realized. "Well, we'll just have to get rid of the bodies. …Say, they have a nice ride! And it's not all banged up." He looked at Harley pointedly before digging in the dead man's pocket for the keys.
"Oh boy," Harley commented sarcastically. She started unpacking their car again, setting their belongings on the ground and Joker stuffed the two bodies into the front seat.
"Don't forget the license plate!" Joker warned as he headed to the other vehicle. He opened one of the back doors, quickly waking the teens from their electronic stupor. "We really like your car. Time to join mom and pop." The kids understandably didn't go along with this too easily and thrashed about in the back seat. His blade quieted them down though considerably though.
The kids' bodies were added to their car and, after Harley had removed the license plate, Joker shifted the car into neutral and they both pushed it toward the dropoff. "I was hoping to push the kids off the cliff alive," Joker conceded to Harley as they rolled the car along.
"People don't tend to sit still for that sort of thing," she replied.
"That's the problem with victims," he continued. "They never cooperate with my artistic vision."
The car plummeted off the cliff and an explosion accompanied its crash at the bottom, which delighted Joker to no end. He dug a quarter out of his pocket, went to the binocular stand set at the edge, placed the coin in, and looked at his handiwork. "…I can't make out any bodies," he said disappointedly.
"Two days," Harley commented angrily.
"What?" Joker abandoned the binoculars momentarily and turned to her.
"You said you hadn't killed anyone in about a month. It's only been two days. Two. Days!" She held up two fingers to drive the point home.
"Really?" Joker asked in disbelief. "…Huh…It felt a lot longer." He returned to the binoculars. Harley sighed and went to pack and switch license plates on their new SUV, throwing the extra one down the cliff with the burning wreckage.
It'd take awhile before the family went missing, and even longer for their bodies to be located. They'd be long gone by then.
"We'll change before we go," Joker decided. Luckily, there was a lot more room in the back of an SUV for changing compared to their old car.
Gladrial's End Notes: Lex Luthor's actually in the next chapter! ZOMG! Finally!
SnoChan's End Notes: It's such a relief to have all of this WRITTEN and not have to worry about anything but the beta. Ugh, the pressure!